jeff_g2

<p>I took a piece of brass about 1/16th by 1/4in wide, and bent a hook on the end. I was able to get all the tabs on a 3a autographic in about 5 minutes without cutting the old bellows or breaking any tabs.</p>

I have an Agfa Isolette ($65) that I carry daily. Gorgeous picts. perhaps the best camera I own.

here is an example of one of the pix

http://f9g.yahoofs.com/groups/g_19410389/baf0/__sr_/3a36.jpg?grAeQuGBchhiHQ4B

Buy 2 regular cable releases so you can use mirror up mode. Much cheaper than the weird Mamiya twin release, and nothing to be afraid of.

It's really just the size of the mechanisms inside moving--there is a HUGE mirror that has to fire all the way before the shutter fires. This is the Aircraft Carrier of cameras rather than the ski-doo of cameras. THe best suggestion is use of the mirror up mode. As soon as you take a pict, then fire the mirror, wait for action and then fire shutter. The rangefinder top may be a good investment for you.

The Kaiser air release is 5 meters and less than $20...works great

make sure lens is set to "N" rather than "M" to fire from the front button. N is non-mirror up mode and M is mirror up--will fire mirror but not shutter.

you shouldnt have to hit the tab to get to one after loading.

 

the gear for the number dial may have slipped off. have you done a shake test to see if it sounds loose. I've had a slip in the middle of a roll and been between numbers with one frame half on top of another at some point in the roll but never seen this issue. If you have an already messed up roll you may want to try loading it and checking it where you think half way is on the roll to see if it's advancing correctly, but this back in the end may be one for the chipper.

250mm will show up on eBay once in a while, and I have only seen a couple bigger than that in the last year or so. I have a Cambon 2x tube that doubles the effective length of the lens for a loss of a couple stops. You will have much better luck finding one of those.

I have been using the Arista.EDU for a couple months, and I absolutely love the stuff. This is a switch from Ilford. I have only had a single wiggy roll where there seemed to be something wrong with the emulsion on about the last inch. I have all my stuff laid out or hanging in full roll sleeves and havent seen any curl problems.

I have never shot at 400---my mind just doesnt go that fast. Most of the time I am at 125 or even lower. Did a model with 4 rolls today mostly at 30 and 60. Every pict is a beaut.

Look up the user name "interslice" on eBay. I did a 220 in about an hour, and then sold it for an extra $50. It went from a piece of tarry junk to light tight and clean. No need to take the door off.

Not sure where Troy gets 6 pounds---mine is more like 20 tossed over my shoulder with the tripod and all.

 

The RB is a camera for he-men.

The C series also has these holes. C220-C330 etc. On one of those I had a pin break off and rattle around in the hole. The entire bottom section of the camera was outside the main light case of the camera and came off with just a few small screws. This is not the case on the RB where I believe these holes are integral to the main metal body of the case. I use a gitzo plate on the bottom of mine that does not have the pins and I just tighten it very tight. The Gitzo also has a lock that engages so that the screw is unable to be turned when engaged.

I do both, and there is an answer above that sounds just like me. I have an RB67 and a toyo-omega 4x5. I have a quick release on my tripod, and sometimes in the middle of a session shooting MF, I rip off the MF camera and shoot a couple 4x5 frames.

 

go cheap to start, and put the money into a good lens or two. Think of it as an adjunct to the MF.

The 180 rb is available on "the evil website" from reputable dealers in the $100 range. I would check Adorama, Shutterblade, and KEH before buying from an individual for that price.

prob not, and I would need to check if it might actually time between stops, but as far as the other, there is a spring set in the shutter and this can be damaged or throw timing off significantly with abuse. A lot like lens and shutter sets for large format cameras.

 

Where I work I was shown an example of a 127mm that had been abused in this way -- it no longer went to the 1 sec stop, and at anything less than 1/125 the shutter stayed open for 4-10 seconds---Just remember that the whole thing is mechanical and operates like a watch mechanism.

 

The mechanical nature of the RB system invites problems in this regard. While I have treated mine "fairly well" I see the body as basically a disposable unit. Prices for reasonable condition rb bodies being less than $125 dollars and even the most minor fix to replace bellows for example will be well half the price of another body. The lenses however I treat as fine watches, pampering them. I have done this with cameras for several years and have ammassed a large collection of lenses. ---For 35mm cameras I have all screw in lenses and have gone through no less than 6 bodies in the last 20 years with the same set of 8 lenses. None of the bodies cost more than $25 dollars.

 

This is the main reason I went from a Mamiya TLR to an RB system. I see prices for the TLR equipment staying approx the same while the RB stuff plumets and the quality remains the same. I think the RZ stuff will also remain significantly higher than the RB stuff for the next few years.

do NOT shoot with it between shutter speeds. The other do not, is do NOT whip the speed ring back and forth. bad juju in an all mechanical camera.

 

I use the 250 for head shots, and use it with a 2x tube to make my camera look like an alien space weapon. And to take head shots of people 2-3 blocks away.

 

The C is fine as you will be buying a used lens off the bat, plenty sharp at wider apetures. Also consider stopping the time down an extra stop with the 250 as opposed to the 90. I use a mamiya bellows on the front of mine constantly for glare and to drop in gels. I also always use mirror up with the bigger lens just because it's so heavy I worry about the whole tripod jiggling when the mirror whaps up.

hehe--I guess the camera type might just matter a little here---Its

an RB-67 that I am having the problem with--

Just did a few rolls in a new to me camera with a model leaning on a wall, and

it almost looks as if the background is in focus and the model is not. Is it

possible that the mirror may be off somehow? I can't figure out how I might be

focusing behind where I think I am focusing. any ideas?